The Pretty Eastern White Pine Tree
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	GLOSSARY
	Bract	Woody scales on a pine cone protecting the tree seeds.
	Cone	The fruit of an evergreen tree.
	Conifer	Evergreen trees and shrubs.
	Needle	The long, thin leaf of a pine tree.
	Sap	The fluid that carries food throughout a plant.

The Pretty Eastern White Pine Tree

The pretty Eastern White Pine Tree can be found all over Ohio. This beautiful conifer is commonly used for lumber, pulp for paper production, landscape trees, and also for Christmas trees.

Moist, sandy soils are favored by the eastern white pine. However, they can grow in nearly any soil type. The eastern white pine trees that are planted in better soil are stronger, healthier trees. Full sun is preferred by the white pine, but they can tolerate some shade when they are younger. As they get larger, the eastern white pine tree needs more sun.

The bark of the eastern white pine is very smooth and grayish in color when the tree is young. As it ages, the bark gets rough and ridged. The color also changes and becomes a dark gray-brown. On older eastern white pine trees, sap sometimes will run down the bark becoming noticeable as it turns white after being in the air for a day or so.

The eastern white pine tree needles are this trees leaves. They are set apart from other pine tree needles by their blue-green color. They are also soft, meaning that when you touch them, they bend and don’t stick you like many pine tree needles. The most unique feature of the eastern white pine tree needles is that it is the only tree with needles that grow in bundles of five.

There are flowers on the white pine tree, but they don’t look like any flower you would see in a garden. These flowers look like small, yellow buds near the end of main branches. They grow when the tree grows its new needles. Flowering of the eastern white pine tree usually occurs in May and into early June.

The cone of the eastern white pine tree is typically about 4 to 6 inches long and are green when they are young. These cones turn to yellow-green or brown when ripe. The cone of the eastern white pine will be ripe in August and September. The scales that make up the cone are called bracts. Under each bract, are two small seeds. When the cones are mature, the cone curves slightly and the bracts open to release the seeds. Unlike many other pine trees, these bracts do not have any sharp points.

What a Pretty tree the Eastern White Pine is!